Mayor of Carlow Municipal District, Councillor John Cassin, said that the recent announcement of the loss of 54 jobs in Supervalu in Carlow Town Centre is most unfortunate.   Speaking about the announcement he stated that “Supervalu and its predecessor Superquinn were a welcome flagship for Carlow Shopping Centre since the development of the Centre in the early 1990’s”. 

The Mayor committed that Carlow County Council would work actively with the agents of the state, through its involvement with Carlow Employment Forum, to play its part in the development of new opportunities for the families affected by this announcement. 

Speaking about the announcement, Chief Executive of Carlow County Council, Kathleen Holohan advised that “Carlow County Council is working actively on the support of the business community in County Carlow and regrets the announcement today”. Holohan commented that “in order for us to assist in the creation of conditions that support new and existing retail, Carlow must have a supportive consumer base, a pro-business local government, a skilled workforce, entrepreneurs and access to finance”. Holohan continued to say that “Carlow County Council is actively working on a number of projects to enhance the consumer experience in our Town Centre and the Council has only just completed the compulsory purchase of properties in Barrack Street, with the intention of developing a Regeneration Masterplan and Urban Design Strategy for Carlow Town Centre” Holohan concluded by saying “this infrastructure development, coupled with the supports delivered via the Council’s Economic Development Team, will in my view achieve results in the long term”. 

Head of Enterprise, Kieran Comerford said “the fundamentals for business are right in Carlow and there are good opportunities for new investment and business development in a variety of sectors”. Comerford continued to say “in the Local Enterprise Office we have been acutely aware of the challenges of our retailers over the past number of years, with the decline in disposable consumer income, the ongoing move towards online shopping and a competitive market, which have caused footfall to decrease in some of our retail stores”. Comerford outlined that the Local Enterprise Office had and continues to engage in a variety of micro and macro initiatives to support the retail sector, including marketing of Carlow Retail for Investment, the roll out of Web Vouchers, Specialized Retail Training and the introduction of a significant incentive scheme for new retail across County Carlow, in partnership with Micro Finance, the Department of Social Protection and County Carlow Chamber”.